OKAY
so
I put up a post poking a bit of fun at how a surname-based ship name like "Wildehopps" is in fact semantically vague
LESS THAN 72 HOURS LATER I HAD WRITTEN 3500 WORDS
this is frankly unprecedented. i would like very much to keep up this momentum (esp considering my nine or so unfinished fics) but i'm pretty sure this is just a fluke powered by lesbians

Judy's heretofore-unmentioned elder sister Victoria Hopps was something of a vodka aunt.

Bonnie and Stu had well over three hundred children, and even with the tendency of Bunnyburrow rabbits to stay close to the ground, outliers and oddities were inevitable. Judy Hopps was merely the most famous. The one who made it onto national news.

Several times.

Victoria was one of the oldest children, middle-aged herself at this point, but that hadn't granted her any more focus from her parents. Lost in the crowd, she walked her own path, and grew into quite a bohemian. She was an artist. A writer. A novelist.

The fact her first actual novel was as yet still unwritten and she worked as a copywriter for a vaguely successful music magazine was neither here nor there. Victoria believed that the measure of a writer was an ineffable quality, a certain way of viewing the world. Not, y'know. Actually writing things. Necessarily.

Victoria was well regarded by her family, especially her juniors. Her parents and close siblings worried about her lackadaisical approach to life and her somewhat tactless sense of humour. Her nieces and nephews and younger siblings thought these were her best qualities.

She was fond of Judy. Judy was her, but better. Driven and enthusiastic and unafraid to pursue her dreams. Victoria was already an adult by the time Judy was born, and she considered herself very lucky to have the opportunity to watch her grow up.

With multiple birthdays, anniversaries and other miscellaneous events on every single day of the Hopps family calendar, it wasn't always easy to show familial support. Prioritization was key. Judy's graduation from police academy, terrifying as it was, was worthy of both parents and a gaggle of kids. But the graduation of her friend? That... fox? The family made their excuses. They had to.

Except Victoria. She was intrigued.

Although she missed the official ceremony, she was sure to attend the afterparty. Especially considering it was in a bar; a nice little place called 'Red Like Roses'. Apparently Nick was friends with the owner. Apparently Nick was friends with everybody.

She shouldered open the door and immediately laid eyes on Judy, standing near the door to greet guests.

The younger rabbit's eyes lit up. "Victoria! You made it!"

"Of course I did, darling. Come here!" She pulled Judy into a tight hug, then pushed her back slightly to admire her gleaming dress uniform. "You're looking shiny."

"Thanks!" laughed Judy. "And you're stylish as ever."

Victoria had inherited Stu's brown fur, and like Judy had black tips on her ears. Black was, in fact, her favourite colour, as evidenced by her sleek black dress and her wide black sunglasses which she had no intention of removing despite being indoors.

She did lift them up briefly to get a better view of Judy's fox. She looked him over with a glint in her purple eyes. "And you must be the enigmatic Nick Wilde, hmm?"

"That's me," he replied with a quiet smirk. "I'm still learning everybody's names; there's a lot of you to keep track of. But Carr- uh, Judy's mentioned you more than once. I really appreciate you coming. Thank you."

Victoria waved a hand, letting her sunglasses slip back into place. "It's historically significant and it's in a bar. You couldn't have made it more My Scene if you tried."

Nick chuckled. "Yeah, I like you already. Speaking of the bar, by all means, help yourself."

"Don't mind if I do, foxy."

Flashing Judy a grin, she moved past them toward the bar. It was a nice place, small but cozy. Old brick walls and red upholstery in the booths. A good vibe. She hopped up to a barstool and caught the attention of the bartender, a black bobcat in a white shirt and black waistcoat. "Do you have a cocktail menu?"

She nodded, silently handing Victoria a bright yellow menu. Victoria scanned it quickly, her eyes moved with practised efficiency, and then grinned. "Excellent. I'll start with a Carrottini."

"Coming right up."

As she set to work, Victoria turned around, looking over the guests. She was the only rabbit aside from Judy, which didn't surprise her. None of the other Hoppses had arrived, leaving her to represent the whole clan. The crowd was very heterogeneous, with no one species dominating the room. Already a lot more interesting than any given Hopps gathering.

Her eye was immediately drawn to a cheetah in a centre booth, as big and bright and yellow as a ray of sunshine, gossiping with a lean grey wolf and a well-built tiger of indeterminate gender. But there were a lot of intriguing guests at this party. Several large mammals that Victoria assumed were off-duty police officers. Some smaller mammals cautiously watching the larger mammals that Victoria assumed were the opposite of police officers. A female honey badger with no indoor voice talking to a small fennec fox, who was ignoring her and frowning sourly at a beer.

And... hello. In a corner booth, nursing a glass of water, was a vixen. Somewhat older than Victoria, wearing a lilac dress that was a bit faded but still beautiful. Tired green eyes.

Alone.

The bartender handed Victoria her glass. Without a backwards glance, she fell neatly to the floor and approached.

"Excuse me..."

The vixen started slightly when Victoria spoke, her ears perking involuntarily. She seemed to have been lost in thought. When she saw Victoria, she gave her a smile, though she also looked confused.

The rabbit gestured to the booth with her free hand. "Mind if I join you?"

"Oh... no, of course not." The vixen's voice was soft. The vaguest hint of a brogue?

Victoria climbed into the opposite seat, taking a sip of her cocktail. "Mmm! Not bad. That cat didn't skimp on the vodka." She stuck out a paw. "Hiya. Victoria Hopps. Judy's older sis."

"Good to meet you." Victoria was expecting her to be dainty, but her handshake was firm. "I'm Marian. Nick's mother."

"Sort of figured that, yeah," smirked Victoria. "You must be so proud."

Marian sighed, looking over at her son. Victoria heard her tail shift against the seat. "I am," she said quietly. "It's hard to find the words, really."

"I might be able to help with that. I'm a novelist, actually." Victoria took another sip, confirming that next to Marian on the seat was a coat and a handbag and nothing else. "And what about Nick's dad? Didn't bother to show up?"

It only lasted a second, the flicker that passed through Marian's eyes. But Victoria saw it. The fox looked down to her glass, gripping it a little tighter. "Not exactly," she murmured.

Victoria's ears fell against her back with a muted thump. "Oh, god," she said. "I'm – oh no. I'm so sorry."

"It's alright."

"Is he, like – did he –?" She shook her head violently. "No, nevermind. I don't want to know. I mean, I don't want to pry! It's not that it's – yeah. Sorry. Oh god."

"Don't worry. It was a long time ago, now."

Marian looked past her for a moment; Victoria shifted around to follow her gaze. Nick was still by the door, joking with Judy.

"Just... don't mention it in front of Nick," said Marian solidly. "This is his day of celebration. He does not need old wounds picked at." She was still polite, still a gentle older woman. But there was a subtle edge to her voice. One Victoria didn't want to test.

"Right. Sure. I won't." Victoria stopped craning her neck, facing Marian again. "Sorry. I'm always sticking my foot in my mouth..."

"It is a shame," said Marian absently, still looking at her son. "He would've been so proud. Of course, we both loved Nick dearly. We always knew he was such a smart young man. But something like this..." She smiled. "It's more than we ever could've hoped for."

"Yeah," said Victoria, somewhat lamely. Rallying, she continued. "I only just met Nick when I arrived, but I feel like I know him already. Judy's very taken with him. He's all she talks about."

"They make quite the pair, don't they?" said Marian, looking back to her. "I'm so happy they found each other. Judy has a way bringing out my son's better qualities..." Her smile turned wry. "Which, believe me, can sometimes be very challenging."

"Not for lack of trying, I'm sure."

"Oh, absolutely," chuckled Marian. "But Judy makes it look easy. They're even sharing a house, now."

"Yes, I heard! Rabbits and foxes, living together..."

"Mass hysteria."

Marian sipped her water, ice cubes clinking against her fangs.

"You said you were Judy's sister?"

"That's right! Though I'm sort of veering into aunt territory with the age difference between us. I'm talking decades."

"Rabbit families..." said Marian, and ended the thought there. "I loved raising Nick, but even two kits would've been a strain. I can't imagine having..."

"Triple digits? Yeah." Victoria knocked back more of her cocktail before speaking. "It's a whole operation, I'll tell you that much. A lot of it comes down to getting the kids to look after themselves. Both in terms of... like, I helped babysit Judy when she was little, along with a couple dozen more. Stuff like that. But also, the sooner you can look after yourself, the better. Make your own money and move out."

"Seems like a lot of pressure," said Marian, concern in her eyes. "Is that what you did?"

"It was indeed!" declared Victoria. "Couldn't stay on that farm forever. One of the many reasons I like Judy. Kindred spirit."

"And you say you're a novelist?" Marian seemed to perk up. "What genre? I love to read, especially these days. Tell me all."

Victoria felt a cold sinking sensation the likes of which she had never had to contend with before.

"Uhhhhhhhh," she said.

She decided to start over.

"Well, my bread and butter is magazine work, actually," she said, sheepishly scratching her cheek. "I'm fairly prolific in, uh, Rock and Roar? The music magazine?"

"Oh, interesting." Marian waved a hand vaguely. "I've seen it in shops, but I don't follow modern music. I'm nowhere near hip enough." She leaned forward slightly. "Novels are much more my bag. So what is it you write?"

Victoria's cocktail glass, tragically, was empty. She lifted it up and mumbled her reply into it.

"Come again?"

Victoria cleared her throat. "I, uh... I am as yet... unpublished."

"Oh," said Marian. "That's okay."

Victoria blinked. "...Is it?"

"Certainly."

"But I'm..." Victoria sighed. "It's just, uh... I've been thinking lately. I can't help but feel that, if I didn't get it published by now, it's never gonna happen. I'm not getting any younger, y'know?"

"Oh, nonsense," said Marian. "Haven't you heard all those stories of those actors or artists or whoever who only find success well into their middle age?" She smirked at Victoria over her glass. "People are too quick to write off the likes of us. Don't do it to yourself."

Victoria removed her sunglasses, letting them rest on the table. She smiled quietly at Marian, her eyes soft. "You know something? You're nice. You are a nice lady."

"I try."

Victoria confirmed, not for the first time, that her glass was still empty. "I'm no-one near drunk enough for genuine personal contact..."

Marian cleared her throat. "This novel of yours – is it still in the 'conceptual' stages, or do you have some prose written?"

"Uh, I have something of a manuscript, yeah. Lot of holes in it still, but it's a start."

Marian steepled her fingers, resting her chin on her paws. "This might be forward of me, but... would you like me to read it?"

Victoria stared. "Are... are you serious?"

"I don't want to overstep my bounds," said Marian quickly. "I appreciate we've only just met, and I'm sure your work is quite personal. I understand if you don't want a stranger pawing at it. But maybe if you had a fresh pair of eyes on it, it might revive your inspiration a bit?"

For a moment, Victoria said nothing. She just watched Marian lamely, to the point the vixen was worried she had offended her.

Then, abruptly, she burst into a huge grin.

"That's it, I'm buying you a drink."

"Oh, you don't –"

Victoria waved over a dark wolf in a red and black dress who was doing laps of the room. "Hey, you work here, right? I should hope all this red décor is justified by a fine selection of red wines."

"Oh, sure!" chirped the wolf. "We've got some great whites, too. Do you want to see the wine menu?"

"How many different drink menus do you have? Because I wanna see a copy of all of them."

"Can do!"

The wolf darted away. Marian fixed Victoria with a polite smile. "Really, Victoria, you don't have to buy me anything. I'm fine."

Victoria took a moment before replying. "Marian, do you know how many people are actually interested in this novel I'm writing? Because I can count them on one hand. Not anybody in my family, I can tell you that much. I think Judy would read it, if she wasn't so busy with... everything else. And my parents were just glad I got a job at a magazine. Something stable. They don't really get... art. The necessity of self-expression." She smiled. "But you? We've only just met and already you care enough to offer to help me. I... I just really appreciate that."

"In my defence," said Marian brightly, "I have nothing better to do with my time."

Victoria laughed. "Okay. Great. Thanks for that."

"My pleasure."

They ended up ordering a bottle of red between them; not too expensive, but still a fine vintage. It arrived at their booth just before Nick and Judy did.

"Well, well, well," drawled Victoria, "the man of the hour. Everything going well?"

"I'd say so," replied Nick. He and Judy slid into the booth, each sitting next to their own relative. He turned to Marian, his voice softening almost imperceptibly. "You doing okay, Mom?

"Oh, I'm just great, Nicky." She shot a glance across the booth. "You don't have to worry about the two of us."

"Yeah," said Victoria proudly. "We've set up a nice corner over here for cool old ladies. We don't even need the rest of the party. We're an autonomous nation."

"Sounds good," said Nick. "A little ominous, maybe, but good."

Judy elbowed her sister. "Just behave yourself, alright? Mrs Wilde is a respectable woman. Don't be a bad influence."

"You're kidding, right? She's a bad influence on me! The terrible things she's been telling me..."

"Always beware the quiet ones," said Marian with a smirk.

They poured the wine and declared a toast to Nick; his success, his future, and his partnership with Judy. The duo stayed at the booth for a while. The conversation flowed freely and multiple embarrassing family stories were swapped. But Nick and Judy were in high demand, and eventually drifted away.

Victoria and Marian mingled, chatting to the other guests – that cheetah was exactly as fun to talk to as Victoria had first hoped. But mostly they stayed in their corner, talking the night away and becoming steadily drunker. Marian only consumed about a third as much alcohol as Victoria, but she was a lot less practised.

They ended up being some of the last to leave, only outlasted by the likes of Officer Fangmeyer, whose tolerance was high even for a tiger. They decided to split a taxi to save money, a decision which was then made somewhat redundant by Nick insisting on paying for it himself.

"Get home safe, alright?" he said. "I'd go with you to make sure everything goes okay, but – wait, actually, there is no 'but'. I can go with you. I can go with them, can't I, Carrots? Mom, I'm going with you."

Marian laughed, cutting off Judy's reply. "Oh, Nicky, you're always so anxious. Relax. Go home. We'll be fine."

She hugged him tightly, then drew back, a hand on his cheek.

"I am so, so proud of you. For everything. You know that, don't you?"

"Yeah," he said, his eyes soft. "I do."

"Good. Don't you forget it."

Judy cleared her throat, shyly catching Victoria's attention. "Hey. Thanks so much for coming."

"Oh, darling, it was my pleasure. Thanks for having me. I'm so glad I came." She hugged Judy and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Don't be a stranger, alright? Keep me abreast of your various dangerous adventures!"

"Will do!"

Their taxi arrived soon after, but their departure was delayed by Nick chatting to the sheep driving it. He knew him, because of course he did.

It was just as well the taxi driver had gotten his fill of conversation from Nick. For the duration of the drive, Victoria and Marian were too giddy to be coherent. Most of their communication took the form of one of them referencing something which had been discussed at the party, and then both of them laughing very hard. The driver was content to leave them to it.

Their good mood took a blow, however, by the encroaching sound of jackhammers.

Victoria's ears perked, then wilted uncomfortably. "Ugh, tell me that's not..."

"Are there roadworks ahead?" said Marian.

"Yeah, looks like it," said the driver. "They're always fixin' something in this damn city... Gonna slow us down a lot, I'm afraid."

"Booooooo," said Victoria, flopping back in the seat. "I just wanna rest my eyes... Not above falling asleep in a taxi, but not with that noise nearby..."

Marian thought for a moment, then reconsidered, then reconsidered reconsidering. She leaned forward. "You were heading to the first address we gave you, right?"

"Yeah. I mean, I'm trying to think of a detour, but there's nothing that'll get us there that much quicker."

"How about you just skip to the second place? Would that work?"

"Oh, sure. I could head there right now."

"Thank you."

As he changed lanes, Victoria turned to Marian. "We're skipping my apartment? Are you... am I gonna get your couch? I don't wanna – you've already been so nice, it's not –"

"Oh, hush," said Marian with a bright smile. "It's no trouble. Believe me."

Victoria attempted a few more vague protests, but soon enough they were pulling up to Marian's apartment building. It was an old place, and it wasn't in the best neighbourhood, but something about it seemed welcoming to Victoria.

That is, until they made it into the lobby.

"Oh my god there's no elevator?!"

Marian couldn't help but laugh. "Try to keep your voice down! People are sleeping. C'mon, I'm on the third floor..."

"Eugh," said Victoria.

The stairs were intended for mammals a little larger than rabbits, which caused them to prove even more of a challenge for Victoria's drunken, uncoordinated limbs. But with Marian's help, she conquered the climb.

Marian unlocked the door to Apartment 301, then promptly shut it and checked all the locks were secure once they were both inside. Victoria looking around, unable to hide her interest. The apartment was small to the point of being cramped, but the furniture was meticulously arranged and the faded green wallpaper made it immediately feel like a home.

"So this is where Nick grew up, huh?" she said. "I wanna poke through your cool stuff but I'm too drunk and tired..."

"Maybe in the morning," said Marian with a smile. "For now, help yourself to the couch."

Victoria dropped her sunglasses on the coffee table as she passed it, then climbed onto the couch. It sagged under her weight, admitting its age, but it was still comfortable.

"Oh, yeah, this'll–" She looked up and failed to see Marian. "Uh? Where'd you...?"

Marian emerged from her own bedroom, holding a pillow and a homemade quilt. "Here. These should make things more comfortable."

"Awh, yeah..."

Victoria was soon settled in, her head on the pillow and her little paws gripping the quilt tightly. It was wonderfully soft. "Thanks so much for all this," she mumbled. "You're so nice. You're the nicest lady. I've never met a nicer lady. Wow."

Marian chuckled, hovering over her. "And I've never met a drunker bunny."

"Hey, you're not a cop. That's your son. Your great son who you should be proud of. Not you. You and me, we could do crimes..."

Even as she spoke, her eyes drifted shut. She was too comfortable – and frankly, too drunk – to fight off sleep.

She felt Marian lean a little closer to her, and after a moment, lay a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you," she said. Her voice close and quiet. "I had a lot of fun talking to you. More than I've had in... well, a while. Sleep well, okay?"

With that, she stood and drifted off, her feet almost noiseless against the hard wooden floor.

Victoria curled into a ball, smiling dumbly into the darkness.

"...You're welcome."